31.7.16

Hi friends sharing a Mixed Media Plaque I made by recycling a cake base and experimenting with Stencils and lots of mixed media supplies.

Stencil Techniques

I used texture paste on The Crafters Workshop Mini Tuscan Wall Stencil and sprinkled it with Ranger's Gold embossing powder and when the texture paste was dry heat embossed it to create the beautiful brick wall

Mixed Media Plaque

Stencilled some vine leaves [from the same stencil]with texture paste and sprinkled Stampendous green embossing powder leaving some on the un-stencilled areas. Heat embossed the powder while the texture paste was still wet to create the grungy diffuse look of background greenery

Mixed Media Plaque

The little nest was made using air drying clay and a silicon mold. Cut up some vegetable packaging netting and painted it brown with acrylic paint and added some real feathers to make a backdrop for the nest!

Clay Nest

Created textural elements on the background using crackle paint, glass beads gel, micro beads and a sprinkling of distress glitter

The wood grain texture was created using the Carabelle Studio Effet Bois stencil,texture paste and gold embossing powder. Used Inka Gold on the charms and on the edges of my plaque

Stencil Effect

Here is a closeup of a mushroom in my woodland with tiny beads and vines and a sprinkling of subtle shimmer[ got with Distress Glitter]

Mixed media textures

I think our creations often reflect what we love...I love to be inspired by nature and music and in this project I added a faux chipboard musical note created by layering Spellbinders musical note diecuts and heat embossing with the same gold embossing powder I used to create the woodgrain and bricks!

Sola Wood Roses

On the lower corner of my project is a medley of media...there are handmade clay leaves, stamped and heat embossed leaves [ from Heartfelt creations Delightful Daisy sets], store bought fabric flowers and handmade Sola wood roses
I first shared flowers made using sola wood in this post on Foam Roses and leaves made from Sola wood in this Window Card
There was a lot of interest in the medium and though I promised a Tutorial a long time ago only now I have finally got around to sharing a Tutorial on making gorgeous Sola Wood Roses

Sola Rose Tutorial

Sola wood is made from compressed tapioca peel and its available as rolls. I am not sure if this is available all over the world but I did see listings to handmade sola flowers on Etsy and Wedding Shopping sites and some were exorbitantly priced!

[For Indian crafters I have shared links about where to buy sola wood at the end of the post]

Sola Rose Tutorial

Sola wood rolls are very delicate and if you handle it roughly your rolls can tear! In cutting out petals to make your sola wood flower follow the natural curvature of the sola wood sheet as you can see in the picture above

Sola Rose Tutorial

You can make quite a few flowers from a single roll of Sola Wood and to make a single rose I cut out 1 + 2 + 3 + 5= 11 petals in the order of petal layers.

Sola Rose Tutorial

The first picture above shows the shape of the innermost bud. Gently curve this petal and hot glue it at the base to form a tight bud

Sola Rose Tutorial

On the 2nd layer use 2 petals to snugly wrap around the inner bud- overlap the petals as shown above for a natural look.

Sola Rose Tutorial

I added 3 petals in the next layer again overlapping the edges of the petals as shown.

Sola Rose Tutorial

Sola wood is very thin and delicate so you have to be very gentle while handling the petals and also while hot gluing so as not to burn yourself.The trick is to use just a dot of glue at the base of the petals while gluing.

Sola Rose Tutorial

You can vary the number of petals in each layer depending on the look you want and the size of your petals.

In the flower below I used 1 + 3 + 3 + 4 + 5 petals to make a large and full Sola Wood Rose

Sola Rose Tutorial

Another tip while working with Sola wood is to keep the flower petals under a lid like I have done here or in a covered box as they are so lightweight they will fly all around especially if you are working with the fan on or with a breeze blowing!

Sola Rose Tutorial

I hope you liked my delicate Sola Wood Roses !

Sola Rose Tutorial

Here is a pinnable image for my friends and blog readers who are pinterest fans

25.7.16

Hi friends sharing an altered Tea light holder in the shape of a bird house.This is the terracotta "diya holder" I picked up from a fancy store

Terracotta Diya Holder

The little house was given a generous coat of gesso and white paint and made into a bird house with a little bird perched atop!

Thai Clay flowers

All the white flowers and the pink roses were made with thai clay, a type of air drying clay.The bright magenta roses are store-bought roses altered with gesso.

Tea light Holder

Thai clay is a wonderful medium to make clay flowers and though I dont have a photo tutorial [ one has to work pretty fast as otherwise the clay will dry out and lose its suppleness], the steps of making the rose are nearly the same as in this Playdough rose Tutorial

Thai Clay rose

If you are interested in Thai Clay crafts
Here are some of the tools I used :Pasta Machine- not a necessity per se but if you have one you can quickly roll out nice uniform thin sheets of clay.Cutters - you can use metal or plastic cutters to punch out uniform petalsand there are special cutters available to make different flowers but for this project I made most of the roses freehand!Embossing tools- though my first clay tools were made of cheap plastic ...they broke after some time and later I got some metal tools which are rather heavy but perfect for clay crafting.
The 5 multicolored tools you see were gifted to me some time back by my friend Sudha . These are a cross between a plastic and a metal embossing tool...these are lighter as the body is not made of metal but strong and less likely to break as the tips are made of metal. The set also has 3 very fine tips which are fabulous for making fine lines .
Thank you so much Sudha they are awesome not just for clay but also for embossing on paperThai Clay: I have tried thai clay by a couple of different brands and not found much of a difference. The only catch with thai clay is once you open a packet you have to finish it off fast otherwise you risk the whole thing hardening!

Clay Tools

On the side of the bird house you can see a fusion of clay and paper.

Heat Embossed Leaves

I used Winnie and Walter In Bloom Elsa's Flora Stamp Set to make all the paper leaves.

Altered Tea Light Holder

Added a golden pearl chain to loop all around the bird house and added butterflies all along. The gorgeous golden paper butterfly was sent to me by Mrs A all the way from England!

Clay Craft

Thai clay comes in a white color and is colored with oil colors before its moulded. Sometimes its difficult to predict the color...this little rose is a much darker shade than all the other clay roses but turned out cute all the same!

Thai Clay rose

On the back side of the bird house is a huge metal butterfly!

Thai Clay Roses

I also added some of my favorite pollen and berries

Heat Embossed Leaves

And here is my altered tea light holder on our terrace garden.

Tea Light Holder

I know I have not visited my blogger friends for some time now...life gets busy every once in a while...so please pardon me...will be catching up soon!And please do take a moment to tell me how you like this Thai Clay ProjectSupplies : Dies : Cheery Lynn Grass, Cheery Lynn Butterfly ,Marianne Anja Leaf 3Stamps : Winnie and Walter In Bloom Elsa's Flora Stamp Set Pollen : From Crafters Corner and Raja MarketLinking to :
Edited : This Project was featured as Top 5 at All sorts Anything But a Card Challenge and was showcased by Di at the Pixie's Playground

22.7.16

Hi friends for my DT posts for Crafters Corner I was assigned to make projects using "Stencils". I went shopping and got some gorgeous stencils and mixed media products which I will be showcasing in the next couple of posts.

This diary I altered in mixed media style is a rather special one as it's where I jot down ideas for my blog posts and crafty experiments .Though I do use Pinterest and Evernote for my crafty ideas and organization ...there is nothing quite like old school pen and paper !!

Diary I altered

After a coating of Gesso,I used Ranger Multi medium Matt Gel to glue down a layer of tissue paper , purposely making it bumpy in certain areas.

Gave a light brushing with Art Anthology's Sorbet Peach paint...this new paint is like a gel and is shimmery and beautiful

Mixed Media Book Cover

The humble tissue paper is such an easy way to add texture to a project and its texture can be highlighted so beautifully by rubbing on a little Inka Gold using your fingers.

Mixed Media Book Cover

I added the sentiment " Enjoy" on my diary cover as after all crafting is to be enjoyed and life too!!

Mixed Media Book Cover

The design on the center of my book was made using the gorgeous Prima's Jamie Dougherty Stencil Anemone.

Prima Anemone Stencil

This stencil is simply fascinating to use as it has 2 parts...a broad outline and a detailing element.

Sponge on 1 or even several ombre shades of Distress Inks on the flower outline

Prima Anemone Stencil

You can add a nice script or musical note stamp on it as it has enough space

Stencil techniques

Or try some texture media techniques!

Prima Anemone Stencil

Place the detailing design part of the stencil and apply a nice coat of Black Embossing paste.

Embossing Paste

A Tip : Dont scrape off the black embossing paste while the stencil is on your project as you can easily mess up things...let it be...after you lift your stencil off your surface...scrape the stencil clean using your palette knife and return excess paste to your jar and dont forget to quickly wash your stencil and knife.

Now using the same stencil with a very very special luxury paint called Sorbet[ from Art Anthology]. Sorbet paints are light and fluffy and almost like a smooth gel...quite unlike any paint I have ever seen and it shimmers brilliantly in the light !

Stencil Technique

Scoop up a generous amount of Sorbet with your palette knife and smoothen it onto your outline stencil.

Stencil Technique

On drying you get an amazing shimmery design!

Stencil Technique

Looks good enough to eat doesnt it!!

Stencil Technique with Sorbet Paint

Layered Stencil + Art Anthology Sorbet Paint + Embossing Paste

Stencil Technique

You can leave the sorbet painted design as it is or add more by layering on the detailing part of the stencil [ only after the sorbet layer is absolutely dry] and adding a texture paste. I went with Dreamweaver's black embossing paste again.

Stencil Technique

Isnt this simply gorgeous !!

Stencil Technique

Love how the matt black contrasts soo beautifully against the shimmering peach sorbet.

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About Me

Hi! I am an ENT Surgeon and mom to a crafty little girl. This blog is to share crafty projects, tutorials and crafty tips .I love to interact with crafters and would love to visit your blog too if you have one.Do leave a comment whenever you can and if you enjoyed visiting Do follow this blog via email or becoming a blogger friend!